Behind the Mask
by Ms.K216
Summary: Ladybug and Cat Noir have to fight a new villain named Solar Flare. During a fight with Solar Flare, Ladybug ends up getting hurt while she only has a limited time left to use her powers before she switches back to Marinette. Can Cat Noir figure out a way to help her before she switches back or will time tell him the secret he wasn't meant to find out? (Rated T just in case.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys, just thought I'd take a second to let you know that this is my first** _ **Miraculous**_ **fanfic. I know the show has already aired close to half of the first season in other places, but here in America the show has only aired two episodes. Regardless, it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the fandom and want to write for it. I have only seen the episodes 'The Bubbler' and 'Mr. Pigeon' so far, but don't want to watch anything in advance because my friend and I are watching it together.**

 **That being said, I apologize in advance for inaccuracies in the story and for if my villain seems like any other villain in the show I haven't seen yet. Thanks for reading!**

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"Adrien!" Nino smiled, waving over to his friend from down the hall. Adrien forced a smile and waved as he slowly made his way to Nino's locker.

"Hey Nino." He managed. Nino immediately realized something was wrong and stopped what he was doing.

"You okay?" He asked, resting a hand on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien frowned and looked at the ground, shaking his head, he couldn't lie to Nino. "What happened?" Nino prompted, turning away from his locker to give Adrien his full attention.

"It was my father." Adrien sighed, his hand coming up to hold the end of his blue knitted scarf in a tight fist. Before this morning he'd thought it was a birthday gift from his father. "This morning he saw me wearing my scarf and he asked where I got it."

"Oh no." Nino frowned, he knew Adrien had been excited his father had actually tried this year. "I'm so sorry to hear that..." He shook his head in disgust. It was no secret that Nino didn't like Mr. Agreste because he was always so strict with Adrien, but this was crossing the line.

"He actually said it was kind of ugly." Adrien tried to laugh, but he looked absolutely crushed. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to think he'd actually get me something so nice." He looked down at the end of the scarf again and smiled softly. "I think it's perfect… Someone actually took time out of their life to make something for me." Adrien looked up at Nino then. "I know it's not a big deal to most people, but to me it's more than just the gift. Someone actually put love and thought into something and then gave it to me on my birthday."

"Well, if it's not from your father, who could have given it to you?" Nino wondered. Adrien's green eyes turned sad again, a pool of anger laying underneath that.

"That's the best part!" Adrien threw his arms up in frustration. "This whole time I thought the scarf was a gift from my father, so I don't even know who it's from!" Adrien shook his head. It was bad enough that his father insisted on having a limo bring him to and from school every day, now because of him someone probably thought he was a spoiled, rich brat for not saying thank you for the gift.

"Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation…" Alya closed her locker door and smiled to Adrien and Nino. "I know who that scarf is really from."

"You do?" Adrien asked, his whole attitude changing from angry and upset back to his usually happy self. Nino smiled at Alya, thankful that she'd helped brighten Adrien's mood.

"So who's it from?" Nino asked. Alya opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped and chewed on her lip, she'd promised Marinette that she wouldn't say anything to Adrien about it.

"Umm… I think that she'd want to tell you herself." She covered quickly. "Do you think you can wait a few minutes before you go home for lunch this afternoon? I can have her meet you in front of the school."

"Perfect!" Adrien smiled. "Thank you so much Alya!"

"No problem." Alya smiled back before noticing Marinette at the end of the hallway. "If you'll excuse me, I gotta go find her." She told the boys, starting down the hall before they had a chance to answer. "Marinette!" She squealed as she ran down the hall. She took her friend by the shoulders, bouncing in front of her. "Girl! I have the best news ever!"

"Okay, okay!" Marinette joined in with her friend's bouncing. "What happened?!"

"Adrien found out that his father isn't the one who gave him the scarf!" Alya blurted out, clapping her hands together. "I told him I knew who it was from and that she would… er, you would… meet him outside school before he went home for lunch!"

"Wait… what?!" Marinette's smile turned into a look of horrified fear and she stopped jumping. "Alya!" Marinette pulled on her hair, and started pacing back and forth. "Why would you do that!?"

"Marinette." Alya took the girl by the shoulders again and forced her to look at her face. "You got this! Adrien looked so sad that he didn't know who it was really from… You're going to make him so happy!"

"Well… I guess." Marinette smiled when she thought of how excited Adrien would be to find out she'd made him that scarf. "I have to figure out what to say to him though."

"Just tell him the truth. You have all morning to figure it out." Alya laughed, putting her arm around Marinette's shoulder as she walked with her to their first class.

…

Before long, the lunch bell rang and the students were being dismissed for their lunch hour. That is, all of the students except for those who'd earned detention and would have to eat their meal at school.

"It's not fair." One girl, Sunnie Johnson, pouted as she watched the students leaving the school out the window. "It's the nicest day of the year and here I am stuck in school for lunch!" She glowered at the students out the window and toyed with the sun charm on her necklace. "I really _did_ just lose my homework!"

"Excellent!" Hawk Moth laughed from his tower somewhere else in the city. "Sunnie's feelings of anger at the unfairness of being trapped inside on the nicest day of the year will work nicely in helping me get my hands on Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses!" He explained to his akumas as he evilized one and sent it out to help him with his plan. It was only a matter of a minute or so before the akuma found a home in Sunnie's necklace and the outline of a bright pink butterfly spread across the faces of Sunnie Johnson and Hawk Moth. "My dear Sunnie. I understand your frustrations of being trapped inside on this nicest day of the year. Your name has the word 'sun' right in it… this is quite an injustice. I want to help. All I ask in return is that you retrieve the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Cat Noir and deliver them to me."

"Yes, Hawk Moth." Sunnie smiled, an evil glint becoming apparent in her eyes as she held onto the charm that was now a cloud and lightning bolt. Hawk Moth chuckled slightly, allowing his akuma to complete the transformation and turn Sunnie into an evil villain.

"Excellent! From now on you will be Solar Flare, master of the weather! Go forth and bring me what I asked for!"

…

Adrien had gotten outside before Marinette and was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, he was eager to find out who had given him his scarf. Marinette took a deep breath as she saw him, when he spotted her he waved to her. No going back now.

"Hi Adrien…" Marinette waved to him shyly, her cheeks turning bright red. She didn't know what it was about him, but whenever she was around him she couldn't think straight. To Marinette, Adrien was perfect in every way.

"Hey Marinette." Adrien smiled. The way he said her name was like magic to Marinette.

"Hi Adrien." She repeated nervously. Adrien thought it was endearing how jumbled up she got around him.

"Hi Marinette." He chuckled, teasing her a little bit by repeating his greeting like she had. When Marinette's face turned even deeper red he waved his hand as if erasing what had happened and giving her a clean slate. "Did Alya tell you to come talk to me about something by any chance?"

"Umm… well… as a matter of fact…"

"Wait what?" Adrien wasn't paying attention to Marinette anymore, he was looking past her, above the school where a giant funnel cloud had appeared. When he noticed a blonde girl dressed in an orange suit in the center of it he realized it was a job for Cat Noir.

"What are you looking at?" Marinette asked, turning around to look. She cringed internally when she realized she would have to cut Adrien off so she could transform into Ladybug and save the day.

"Umm… Marinette… I just realized I forgot I have something to do at home…" He prayed that she would let him go without question.

"I umm… yeah… me too! Talk later?" She asked, starting to back up. Adrien nodded, relieved that he wouldn't have to keep Ladybug waiting while he tried to come up with an excuse for Marinette.

"Talk later! I promise!" He yelled to her as he started to run off in the opposite direction.

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 **A/N: So, that was chapter one! Let me know what you think in a review if you'd like.. I'd love to know what you thought of this! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter two, here we go! Hope you guys enjoy as much as I do!**

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"Plagg!" Adrien dropped his backpack in the first empty alley he found and unzipped it. "Claws out!" He yelled to the little black Kwami. Plagg didn't put up as much of a fight as he could have as he got sucked into Adrien's ring, turning him into Cat Noir. In the time it'd taken for him to transform, the clear sunny sky had become dark and grey and the wind was really starting to pick up too. Cat Noir sprang out of the alley then, looking all around before he noticed the funnel cloud he'd seen earlier was near the Eiffel Tower and it'd already grown. Without pausing Cat Noir scrambled up the ladder to one of the fire escapes and lunged from rooftop to rooftop until he managed to get to the building where Solar Flare was waiting.

"Cat Noir! What an… _expected_ surprise!" Solar Flare cackled, directing a sheet of rain towards him. The force of the water beating down on him forced Cat Noir to take a few blind steps back until finally he stepped back into thin air and started flailing his arms to try and save himself. He never regained his balance, but instead of falling off of the roof he fell forward. Ladybug had swung in just in time to save him.

"I bet you're glad to see me." Ladybug chuckled, offering her partner a hand up. Instead of using her hand to pull himself up, Cat Noir kissed the back of it and grinned up at her.

"I'm always glad to see you My Lady."

"Enough of that!" Ladybug sighed, pulling her hand away from him. She was tired of his constant flirting, her heart belonged to Adrien whether she was Ladybug or Marinette.

"Get their Miraculouses." Hawk Moth instructed Solar Flare, it seemed that she'd gotten distracted by Ladybug's entrance.

"Yes, Hawk Moth." She answered, raising her arms dramatically as a wave of heat turned the moisture from the rain into a thick fog. She figured that it would be easier to fight the two heroes if they couldn't see her.

"What's this?" Ladybug yelled, pulling her yo-yo out as Solar Flare disappeared. Cat Noir copied her, pulling out his metal staff as well, ready to fight.

"I can't see anything!" Cat Noir complained, swiping his staff out in front of him. Ladybug looked over at him, realizing he was right when she saw how fuzzy he looked even standing right next to her. They couldn't fight what they couldn't see.

"Let's see if I have anything that can help us!" Ladybug said as she tossed her yo-yo into the air. "Lucky Charm!" She yelled, waiting for a red and black spotted tool to fall down to her. Nothing came.

"What happened?" Cat Noir asked, noticing the familiar beep warning them that one of the five black spots on Ladybug's earrings had disappeared.

"I don't know." Ladybug answered, examining her yo-yo to see if there was any obvious problem. "I didn't hear anything fall… I can't find my Lucky Charm!"

"Give up!" Solar Flare yelled, swooping down from above them and tangling Cat Noir up in a red and black net.

"Found it…" He sighed, trying to find his way out of the net. While he was busy, Solar Flare took advantage and hit Ladybug with another round of rain.

"Surrender your Miraculous!" The villain yelled as Ladybug took a step back.

"Not even in your dreams!" Ladybug yelled attempting to use her yo-yo to tangle the girl up, she was down to three spots on her earrings now. Solar Flare simply laughed and used a gust of wind to direct the yo-yo into her hand, then she yanked the tool away from Ladybug and sent another blast of wind at her.

"Give up!" Solar Flare yelled, smiling when she got the hero right where she wanted her. The wind stopped suddenly, giving way to a freezing cold chill that froze the water under Ladybug's feet.

"What the…" Ladybug looked down at her feet, she was confused as to how the ice was meant to hurt her. She didn't have time to think long before another powerful gust of wind knocked her back and she slipped on the ice. She flailed her arms out as she teetered on the edge, but nobody was going to swing in and push her to safety… the only person who could was still trying to figure his way out of a net.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir shrieked as he watched his friend fall off the roof. He narrowed his eyes at Solar Flare, he was beyond angry now. "Cataclysm!" He yelled, slashing his way out of the net in a matter of seconds. As soon as he was out he threw what was left of the net at Solar Flare to keep her busy and ran to the edge of the roof, he saw a fire escape on the building next to the one he was on and took a flying leap of faith. Luckily he caught it and held tight as it slid open and was able to scramble down the ladder relatively quickly.

"This isn't over!" Solar Flare yelled down to him from the rooftop. Cat Noir cringed internally when he saw her holding Ladybug's yo-yo as she created another funnel and headed off in a different direction. He was going to go after her then, but his ring beeped again… only three pieces left. He shook his head, realizing he needed to find Ladybug and make sure she was okay before his power ran out. He looked around the area in between the two buildings for a few seconds before he noticed a broken awning, its tarp strewn on ground with a pair of red and black spotted feet poking out.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir shouted, running over to her. "I guess only cat's land on their…" he started to say, but frowned when he pulled the tarp away to reveal Ladybug was out cold and her earrings had only one spot left. Cat Noir's heart ached when he saw how battered and bruised she was, that fall had really hurt her. This was serious. He couldn't leave her alone because someone else might find her and hurt her more and even if that didn't happen she could already be too hurt to make it home on her own anyway. Besides, he didn't like the look of the bloody gash on her forehead, as a reminder of how bad things were his ring beeped again, he only had two pieces of the paw left. Quickly, but carefully, Cat Noir scooped Ladybug up into his arms and ran out to the street with her. Once he got his bearings he started running as fast as his legs could carry him, his house was only a block away. He tried not to let himself think the worst as he cradled Ladybug in his arms, the one spot on her earring blinking now. He knew that their promise to keep their identities a secret from one another wasn't going to last much longer. Despite that, he wasn't thinking about how badly he wanted to find out who she was behind the mask, he was thinking about how badly he _didn't_ want to find out… not like this at least. As he saw his house come into view, he noticed a slew of reporters and members of the paparazzi waiting for his father to come out and reveal the newest theme for his clothing line.

"Look!" One of the men holding a camera shouted. "It's Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"No!" Cat Noir cursed under his breath.

"Cat Noir! Over here!" A woman reporter called, hoping for an exclusive on the newest villain in town.

"Please hold on." Cat Noir whispered to Ladybug as the blinking of her last spot sped up, she only had seconds left before she changed back. Cat Noir hoped that if Ladybug's identity was going to be revealed to anyone that it would only be to him… someone she trusted with her life… not to every major news crew in Paris.

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 **A/N: So that was fun to write! New chapter soon. A review would mean the world to me! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: We're picking up right where we left off! I'm glad so many of you like the story so far.**

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"Cat Noir!" The bunch of reporters yelled, trying to run up to him for exclusives. He didn't register what any of the questions being thrown his way were as he pulled his staff off his belt and pressed the button in the center to make it extend. He held tighter to Ladybug and stuck the end into the ground, using it to vault over the wall that acted as a fence around his home. The two of them went crashing down hard into the grass. Ladybug tumbled out of Cat Noir's arms from the impact, changing back to Marinette in the process. Cat Noir laid face down on the lawn for a moment, he squeezed his eyes closed even tighter as he sat up.

"I'm so sorry Ladybug." Cat Noir whispered before opening his eyes to see Marinette's tiny figure laying limp in the grass a few feet away from him. He didn't have time to react as his ring beeped again, he only had a minute or so left as Cat Noir, so he hurried to pick up his staff and collect Marinette and her little Kwami so he could climb up the side of house to the balcony that was off his bedroom. He usually left it unlocked so he could sneak in and out as Cat Noir as he pleased. Once he was inside he carefully laid Marinette on his bed and pulled the blankets up around her before placing Tikki on the pillow beside her head. "Plagg, claws in." Cat Noir sighed. Moments later the black Kwami emerged from the ring and Cat Noir was Adrien once again.

"Woah!" Plagg grinned despite being obviously tired. "How does it feel to finally know who Ladybug really is?!" The tiny creature thought Adrien would be happy, but instead the boy held his face in his hands and shook his head.

"It feels awful. It's my fault she got hurt, Plagg…" Adrien looked up at him, his eyes moist from unshed tears. "I should have protected her!" He complained, crossing the room to his personal bathroom. "I should have used my Cataclysm to get out of that net sooner!" He continued to belittle himself as he walked back over to the bed with a small first aid kit. "If I had…" He gently brushed Marinette's bangs out of her face so he could see the cut on her forehead. "…maybe none of this would have happened." He was so disappointed in himself.

"But Adrien… you always wanted her to tell you who she was." The tiny cat tried to reason. Adrien sighed, pouring a bit of peroxide on a cotton ball.

"I wanted Ladyb-" He sighed. "I wanted _Marinette_ to tell me... There's a huge difference between that and what happened here." He explained as he cleaned the cut on Marinette's head and bandaged it up. Once he was finished with that he took Marinette's phone from her purse and searched through her contacts until he found the person he was looking for and hit the call icon.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered after a couple rings. Adrien let out a small sigh of relief.

"Hi… Mrs. Cheng? This is Adrien Agreste, a friend of Marinette's…" Adrien asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"I've heard a lot about you Adrien." Adrien could practically hear the smile in her voice. "What can I do for you?"

"Well… Marinette and I have a really big project due tomorrow and we still have a lot of work left on it. We were wondering if she could just stay overnight." Adrien held his breath as he waited for Mrs. Cheng's answer.

"Well… I guess if you two really have that much work to do." She told him slowly.

"Really?! Thanks Mrs. Cheng! I'll have Marinette call you later okay?"

"Okay…" Marinette's mother answered and Adrien hung up quickly before she had a chance to change her mind. He hated lying, but he didn't want to have to explain how Marinette had gotten hurt either.

…

"Did you retrieve Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses like I asked?" Hawk Moth asked as the outline of a pink butterfly crossed Solar Flare's face.

"Yes, Hawk Moth! I have retrieved Ladybug's miraculous!" The girl held Ladybug's yo-yo up in the air so that Hawk Moth could see it from wherever he was watching.

"You idiot!" The more powerful villain screamed, balling his hands into fists. "That's not her Miraculous! Her earrings are what gives her the power to transform!"

"But… I thought-" Solar Flare started to speak but Hawk Moth cut her off.

"What you have is nothing more than a foolish tool! I suggest if you want to keep your own powers you use that stupid toy to get me what I really want! Do you understand me now?" The man growled, Solar Flare could practically feel the icy hatred in his voice right where she stood.

"Yes, Hawk Moth. I will not fail you again." She promised, looking down at the black and red yo-yo with a new found determination in her eyes.

…

Marinette winced in pain as she woke up the next morning. Her whole body hurt and the gash on her head stung badly.

"Hey..." Adrien smiled from his own make shift bed on the floor. "I'm glad to see you're awake." As soon as Marinette heard his voice her eyelids flew open.

"A… Adrien?!" She made herself sit up in bed despite the protest from her muscles. "How am I…? Why are you…?" She had a million questions, but she couldn't get a single one to come out in a way that made sense. She looked over at her purse on the nightstand and saw Tikki sleeping inside, instantly her eyes filled with tears as she remembered falling.

"Marinette?" Adrien frowned and went to sit on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" He asked though he could probably already guess.

"H… How did I get here?" She sniffled, her body trembling as she waited for the answer. Adrien felt absolutely horrible for her, he hadn't imagined how upset she would be about all of this… he'd been too busy worrying about whether or not she'd be okay.

"Uh… that's a good question…" He fumbled. "I umm… have a good answer too." He told her. Marinette looked at him expectantly, her blue eyes shining with tears. Adrien looked away from her then.

"Adrien?" She prompted after a few moments of heavy silence had passed. He looked up at her again after another couple seconds passed, he still hadn't thought of an answer.

"Marinette, if you found out something about Alya that she wasn't ready to tell you yet… even if you only found out by accident… would you tell her?" Adrien looked hopeless as he waited for her answer, turning to look out the window. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar looking funnel cloud heading towards the school and he deflated a bit. "Marinette, I'm going to go check to see if Nathalie has breakfast ready. You stay here and rest okay?"

"Wait… What?" Marinette was confused.

"Rest." He told her again as he crossed the room, picking up the backpack Plagg was sleeping in as he went. Adrien slipped out the door, closing it quickly so Marinette wouldn't have time to ask questions. As soon as he'd gotten far enough down the hall so Marinette wouldn't hear him he looked for his Kwami. "Plagg! Claws out!" He called, more determined than ever to defeat the villain who'd hurt his friend so badly.

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 **A/N: So that was chapter three! New chapter soon. Leave a review if you'd like to! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Just wanted to say thanks for all the love you guys are showing this story... it really makes me feel so happy! Enjoy the chapter!**

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When Cat Noir showed up at the school Solar Flare was already there terrorizing the students. The first thing that Cat Noir actually noticed about her was that she was wearing Ladybug's yo-yo on her hip.

"Solar Flare!" He yelled, trying to get her attention off of a group of kids who had been having an outdoor class. His method worked well, as soon as Solar Flare saw him she ran towards him, unleashing sheets of hail and rain on him.

"Give me your Miraculous!" She yelled at him. Cat Noir shielded his face from the hail and pushed forward. He needed to get Ladybug's yo-yo so he could de-evilize the akuma infecting the charm on Solar Flare's necklace. He pushed himself to run faster, but just as he was about to lunge at Solar Flare, she created another funnel cloud and lifted herself onto the roof of the school. Cat Noir immediately took off running towards the school and raced up the stairs. Five flights later he was on the roof.

"Give up!" He yelled to her, assuming a fighting position. Solar Flare laughed and directed more rain at him.

"Stupid cat! You'll end up like Ladybug if you don't turn over your Miraculous to me now!" The mention of Ladybug was enough to make Cat Noir angry. He and his partner had taken some pretty serious hits during fights, but never one as bad as the one Solar Flare had delivered to Ladybug. Cat Noir took a deep breath and used his anger to feed his determination to defeat Solar Flare. He took off towards her, trying time and time again to try and get somewhere, only to get knocked down every time.

"Solar Flare!" A familiar voice called from behind Cat Noir. He turned around to see if he'd heard correctly. He frowned when he saw Ladybug standing there… she was in no condition to be fighting.

"Ladybug!" Solar Flare cackled. "What a nice surprise! I thought I'd exterminated you yesterday!"

"Really?" Ladybug rolled her eyes at the lame joke. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily!" She yelled back, jumping into a fighting position. "Ow…" She winced in pain, grabbing at her side. Cat Noir frowned, he knew he needed to end this fight before Ladybug got hurt again. He used Ladybug distracting Solar Flare as an opportunity to make a move. Taking a running start Cat Noir dove at Solar Flare, wrestling with her to try and grab the yo-yo.

"Got it!" Cat Noir exclaimed, holding up Ladybug's yo-yo triumphantly.

"Not so fast!" Solar Flare yelled, grabbing him by the tail so she could pull him back. Cat Noir tried to hold the yo-yo out of her reach as she reached for it.

"Cat Noir!" Ladybug yelled, holding her hands open for him to throw the tool. He nodded at her and threw it in a high arc, as soon as it was out of his hands Solar Flare let Cat Noir go and ran for Ladybug.

"Get it!" Cat Noir yelled, breathing a sigh of relief when it landed in his friend's hands.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called out, catching a red and black spotted umbrella. "What is this going to- AHH!" She screamed as Solar Flare slammed into her and pinned her down. Cat Noir frowned and ran to pick up the umbrella that had went flying out of Ladybug's hands as she hit the floor.

"Give me your Miraculous!" Solar Flare yelled as the small girl tried to wiggle away.

"That's enough!" Cat Noir yelled, distracting the villain just long enough for Ladybug to rip the necklace from her neck. As soon as he saw Ladybug had it, he hooked the back of Solar Flare's shirt with the end of the umbrella and pulled her backwards. Ladybug dropped the necklace and stomped on it, the akuma flying out when it broke.

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug yelled, opening her yo-yo and twirled it around until she captured the little akuma and took the evil power out of it, releasing it as a pure white butterfly. "Bye bye little butterfly." Ladybug smiled at the pretty little thing as it flew away.

"Here…" Cat Noir handed her back the umbrella. "I guess it wasn't used as intended, but it got the job done." He smiled. Ladybug took it from him and tossed it in the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She called, and everything started to turn back to the way things were before. She smiled, holding out her fist for Cat Noir. He shook his head and touched his fist to hers, his smile fading when he noticed her cut peeking out from under her bangs.

"I thought you were going to sit this one out." He told her. Ladybug's smile faded then too.

"And leave you to fight alone? I'd never do that to you…" She answered, rubbing her arm nervously. Cat Noir noticed that she only had three spots left on her earrings and that Sunnie Johnson was still sitting on the roof trying to figure out what had happened to her.

"Let's go talk somewhere a little more private." He said, nodding to her so she'd know to follow.

"Where are we going?" Ladybug asked. "I only have a little more time left before I switch back to my…" She frowned, again sadness enveloping her as she realized it probably didn't matter anymore. "You already know don't you?" She stopped in the stairwell then. Cat Noir frowned and looked at the floor.

"Yeah… I know." He forced himself to look back up to her then. "I am so, _so_ sorry." He told her, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Before you get mad at me will you at least give me a chance to explain what happened?" He asked. Ladybug looked into his green catlike eyes with her own tear-filled blue ones and nodded.

"My Lady… please don't be upset." Cat Noir reached up to wipe a tear off of her cheek. "I promise you I won't tell anyone. Not ever."

"Stop calling me that." She sighed halfheartedly as her three dots went down to two. "Let's go to my house so we can talk. My parents are at work until five o'clock so we should have plenty of time."

"Okay. Lead the way." Cat Noir agreed, letting her go so they could start walking. It didn't take long to get to Ladybug's house. Once they were there Ladybug brought Cat Noir to her bedroom so that way if her parents came home early they wouldn't find him sitting in the living room and start asking all sorts of questions she wasn't prepared to answer.

"I umm… I'll be right back." Ladybug told him. She didn't feel comfortable changing back in front of him even though he already knew who she was. "Make yourself at home." She smiled sadly as she left the room and walked across the hall to the bathroom she shared with the rest of her family. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, she always felt so confident behind the spotted mask. As her two dots faded to one she gripped the edge of the sink and looked away from her reflection. "Tikki… spots off." She whispered. She made herself look back up at her reflection and her eyes instantly filled with tears, but she forced herself to wipe them away and walked back to her room. As soon as she saw Cat Noir sitting there on the edge of her bed looking at her the tears returned.

"Please don't cry Marinette…" Cat Noir frowned, he hated seeing her hurting this way. "What can I say to make this okay?" He asked, desperate to see her beautiful smile return to her face.

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 **A/N: So there we go, chapter four! New chapter will hopefully be up soon. Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you'd like to make my whole day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I had to work on an eight page final instead… Anyway, we're picking up right where we left off last time. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

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"Why did you break your promise?" Marinette asked, tears dripping down her face as she looked over at Cat Noir. Each one that fell made him feel worse and worse about the whole thing.

"My Lady, I didn't mean to break our promise… I know what it means to you." Cat Noir frowned slightly. "The only reason I found out who you really are is because I was trying to protect you."

"You were trying to protect me?" Marinette sniffled.

"Of course." Cat Noir nodded and brought her the box of tissues from off of her bedside table, she took one gratefully. "After you fell off the roof I used my Cataclysm to get out of the net and went to look for you. Solar Flare left because she thought your yo-yo was your Miraculous… I know better than that. When I found you, you were out cold underneath the tarp that was supposed to be an awning on the side of the building. Marinette, I didn't know what else to do… your earrings were down to their last spot and you were really banged up. I wasn't going to leave you there… I just couldn't."

"So you broke your promise… to keep me safe?" She asked, her big blue eyes looking up at him with a hint of confusion. "You weren't just trying to find out who I was?"

"Yes… I only broke my promise to make sure you were alright. I actually felt awful when you finally did change back." He admitted, leaving out the part about how close she was to changing back in front of all those reporters. Marinette shook her head and smiled up at him.

"Thank you!" She squeaked, throwing her arms around his waist, holding him as tight as she could. Cat Noir was a little surprised by her actions but didn't question them, instead he hugged her back.

"I would do anything for you." He whispered. "I'm so sorry it came at the cost of your secret… I promise you it's safe with me." Marinette held on to Cat Noir for a few more seconds before pulling back so she could look up at him.

"Can I ask you something?" She waited for him to nod before she continued. "Why did you bring me to Adrien Agreste's house?"

"Uh… why? What's wrong with Adrien Agreste?" Cat Noir asked, stalling for time as he wracked his brain for a believable excuse as to why he'd do such a thing.

"Nothing…" Marinette blushed. "It's just… I really like him." She frowned slightly. "And don't go around telling him that either! That secret's right up there with Ladybug's identity!" This information made all the thoughts in Cat Noir's head go blank. Finally all the times Ladybug pushed him away made sense now… it was because her alter ego had a secret crush on Adrien.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" He asked, thinking as Adrien. Luckily Marinette just chalked it up to Cat Noir being vain.

"Because…" Marinette shook her head. "…it's complicated."

"Well why haven't you told Adrien?" He asked, curious as to why this was the first he was hearing of Marinette's crush. "I mean… if you haven't… which I mean… I'm assuming you haven't... I mean you're great… " He fumbled with his words, making Marinette laugh.

"Because, _that_ is exactly what happens when I try talking to him. I get all jumbled up and can never get my words out." Marinette sighed, shaking her head a little. "Actually, it's kind of funny, before all of this started I was trying to work up the courage to tell him that the scarf he thought was a gift from his father was really from me."

"You…" Cat Noir stood frozen in place, he may have still been wearing the mask, but he was thinking solely as Adrien now. "That scarf was from you? All this time?" He hugged her tight, and Marinette patted his back softly.

"Are you okay?" She asked when he still hadn't let her go after a few minutes.

"Plagg, Claws In." The boy ordered, waiting until he felt the familiar shift from Cat Noir back to Adrien before he pulled away from Marinette. He smiled when he saw the girl's eye's shut tight.

"Are you sure about this Cat Noir? You don't have to tell me your secret just because you know mine." She didn't peek one bit as she waited for his answer, she respected him too much.

"Open your eyes." He told her, he wasn't nervous at all about telling her who Cat Noir really was. When Marinette opened her eyes she gasped in shock, clapping her hands over her mouth in surprise. Her face turned beat red as she remember what she'd just said about him to Cat Noir.

"Adrien…" She squeaked out, bringing her hands up to pull at her bangs. She didn't know what to say to him.

"I wish you would have told me you liked me a long time ago My Lady." He smiled shyly, his own cheeks turning a soft shade of pink.

"My Lady?" Marinette repeated. "But you like Ladybug…" Adrien shook his head.

"No… It's not the superhero I like… it's the girl." He started to explain. "The girl who fights by my side is strong and brave. She's also the sweetest and most selfless person I've ever met both with and without the mask." Adrien blushed. "Cat Noir always wanted to know who Ladybug was because both he and I really like her a lot."

"Adrien?" She breathed, hoping that this would mean what she thought it did. Adrien smiled at her.

"I really like you a lot Marinette… " He told her, his green eyes shining just a bit. "You're the first person in a really long time that I felt I could really count on." He held his hand out for her. "So what do you say My Lady? Do you want to count on me too?" He grinned when Marinette took his hand and gave him a soft smile.

"I would love nothing more." She told him, standing on her toes to reach up and give him a shy kiss on the cheek. "I bet Cat Noir is happy he's finally won over Ladybug's affections." She teased, making him laugh.

"Well yeah, but I think I'm happier to have you." He smiled, leaning down to kiss her gently. The contact only lasted a couple of seconds, but the electricity between them lingered leaving them both feeling happy and safe in each other's arms.

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 **A/N: So that's it, the last chapter! I really had so much fun writing this story and I loved that you all enjoyed reading it. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, followed, or favorited the story! It really means the world to me and puts a smile on my face!**

 **One last thing before I let you go: A few of you asked me about a sequel to this story… I'm about 95% sure that it will happen so keep an eye out for that if you're interested or you could even PM me about it.**

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 ***** UPDATE *** The sequel is up! Check for it in my stories, it's called 'Their Shared Secret'**


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